Deadliest disasters at sea

Perhaps the world's most famous disaster at sea was the sinking of the massive luxury liner RMS Titanic on its maiden voyage on April 15, 1912. At least 1,496 perished in the icy waters of the Atlantic.

The legendary ship was thought "unsinkable." Two of Titanic's three massive propellers are seen here before the ship was launched on its trip from England to New York.

The vessel struck an iceberg seen here from the rescue ship Carpathia.

Adding to the tragedy was the inadequate number of lifeboats for all aboard. Here, Titanic survivors make their way to the rescue ship, Carpathia.

A picture of the Washington Post second edition printed after the Titanic sank. Immediately after the ship's crash, a lot of conflicting reports were circulated.

While the Titanic's sinking was perhaps the most famous maritime tragedy, the high seas have claimed many lives dating back thousands of years. Seen here is the Costa Concordia, which sank off the coast of Italy in January 2012. Thirty-two people died.

And in April 2014, an estimated 295 people -- most of them students -- died when a ferry capsized off the coast of South Korea. The captain and other crew members were later convicted of murder and abandoning ship.

Admiral Nakhimov -- Up to 448 people die when this Soviet passenger ship collides with a merchant vessel in the Black Sea on Aug. 31, 1986.

Lake Victoria Ferry -- At least 500 people die when a passenger ferry sinks in Tanzania's Lake Victoria on May 21, 1996. One estimate puts the death toll closer to 800.

Tamponas II -- An estimated 580 are killed when this Indonesian passenger ship catches fire and sinks in the Java Sea on Jan. 27, 1981.

Princess Of The Stars -- More than 800 were killed when this ferry suddenly tilted and capsized off the coast of the Philippines during a powerful typhoon on June 21, 2008.

Estonia -- Up to 852 people died when the ferry Estonia sunk during a storm in the Baltic Sea on Sept. 28, 1994.

General Slocum -- The steamship General Slocum catches fire in New York's East River, killing more than 1,000 people on June 15, 1904.

Al-Salaam Boccaccio 98 -- More than 1,000 died when this Egyptian passenger ferry sunk in the Red Sea on Feb. 3, 2006.

Empress Of Ireland -- An estimated 1,012 people die when this Canadian Pacific steamship collides with a Norwegian freighter near Quebec. sinking in 14 minutes on May 29, 1914.

Lusitania -- The British ocean liner Lusitania is torpedoed and sunk by a German U-Boat while crossing the Atlantic Ocean on May 7, 1915, killing 1,195 people.

Titanic -- The Titanic -- the world's largest passenger steamship at the time -- strikes an iceberg in the Atlantic on April 12, 1912, and sinks on its maiden voyage, killing at least 1,496 people.

Sultana -- The steamboat Sultana sinks after its steam drum explodes on the Mississippi River, killing at least 1,700 people on April 27, 1865.

Andrea Doria -- Two passenger liners, the Andrea Doria and the Stockholm, collide off Massachusetts, sinking the Andrea Doria and killing 46 of its 1,706 passengers and crew on July 25, 1956.

Senegal Ferry -- A Senegalese ferry capsizes in a storm off Gambia in West Africa, killing more than 1,800 people on Sept. 26, 2002.

Dona Paz -- In the world's worst peacetime shipping disaster, 4,340 drown when the ferry Dona Paz collides with the tanker MT Victor in the Philippines on Dec. 20, 1987.